The Cleveland Browns completed their woe-for-’17 season with an oh-for-16 finish.
The Browns became the second team in NFL history to go 0-16, losing 28-24 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday to finish a frustrating 2017 season.
Cleveland joins the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only NFL teams to complete a 16-game schedule with a winless record. In 1976, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 0-14 during their inaugural season, when the NFL regular-season schedule had 14 games.
It is the worst season record in Browns franchise history, and gives coach Hue Jackson a 1-31 record through two seasons -- the worst start for a coach in NFL history. The Browns are also 4-49 in their last 53 games.
For the second straight years, the playoff-bound Steelers used backup players at key positions but still eked out a victory. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell were inactive for Sunday’s game.
“This football team has given me everything we have," Jackson said after the game. “This is just where we are. We're 0-16. I know about the parade and everything that's going to be said. ... But these guys continued every week to go out and fight.
“This is going to stay next to my name and the organization's name for the rest of our lives. … There's nothing we can do. We'll turn the page on this and move forward.”
Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer put the Browns within reach of an elusive victory late in game. Facing fourth-and-2 from the Steelers’ 27, Kizer eluded a sack, rolled to his left and threw a pass to a wide-open Corey Coleman near the sideline at the Pittsburgh 11. But Coleman dropped the pass and the Steelers took over on downs, handing the Browns their 17th consecutive regular-season loss.\
The last time Cleveland won a game was Dec. 24, 2016, when the Browns edged San Diego 20-17 in their next-to-last game of the season.
